


Under The Mistletoe

by harrystylesandstuff



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Cute, Dysfunctional Family, Fate, Kid Fic, M/M, this is my first kid fic ever so please bear with me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-21
Updated: 2015-12-21
Packaged: 2018-05-08 05:07:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5484602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harrystylesandstuff/pseuds/harrystylesandstuff
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If there’s one thing Louis hates, it’s Christmas. His mom always decides it’s time to move to another town, and he always finds himself emptying boxes instead of unwrapping presents. And Christmas just sucks.</p><p>When he meets his new neighbour, however, he figures that maybe this holiday depends on who you spend it with.</p><p>Or a kid AU where Christmas sucks but fate is quite nice.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Under The Mistletoe

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya !
> 
> Here's my very first kid fic, asked by the lovely zouismae on Twitter, I really hope you like it, love :)
> 
> I also hope you guys enjoy the short story, and that you excuse my lack of material because i had no idea how to write them as kids haha
> 
> Also: it's set at around the same time real life Louis and Harry would've been 10, thus the weird technology and everything.
> 
> Also, I haven't proof read yet so please excuse the possible typos for now ? :D
> 
> Enjoy as always <3
> 
> xx
> 
> Mel

“Mom ! Have you seen my ball ?!” Louis shouts from his room upstairs, probably just yelling in an empty house while his mom carries heavy boxes out of the car. “Moooom ?!”

When Jay decided – once again – to move out and settle down in Greater Manchester, Louis hadn’t thought about the possibility of a two-story house, big enough to have his voice echo and ricochet against the white walls, paint still fresh enough to overwhelm anyone’s nostrils until they eventually choke on it. Louis was anyway.

“Mom !” He keeps yelling as he makes his way to the front door, making his mother roll her eyes as she enters the house with a box big enough to hide her upper half.

“What ?” She sighs, as if she had been answering her son’s demands for days.

“My football. I can’t find it.” Louis whines, checking the box his mom sets on the floor as soon as it falls, rushed by Louis’ eagerness.

“Louis. We have over ten boxes to get from the car still, I’m sure it’s in one of them.” Jay says calmly, too calm for Louis’ taste.

“But mom I can’t-“

“Help me empty the car and then I’ll look for it with you, Lou Bear. I promise.” Jay brushes Louis’ soft fringe across his forehead, falling right back after as if she’d never done anything.

“Fine…” Louis snorts but obliges, running to the car to drag a random box that read ‘ _books_ ’. His ten year old body is barely keeping up, making him wince as he kicks the box to the door, surely getting the books at the bottom wet, dragging them on the pavement where snow had previously fallen and was now melting, clearing the path across the white lawn in front of the new house. He really didn’t care though. These books were going to get lost on their next trip to a new town soon enough anyway.

Moving out always sucked.

Jay had a thing for changing homes every Christmas for the past four years, so all Louis knew about that time of year was heavy boxes, empty rooms and shitty Christmas trees picked up on the way. It was Chinese takeaways for Christmas dinner and handmade decorations that fell apart by the time Santa made his way to their ridiculous bush in the least homely living room possible.

This year, she’d decided to pick a place where it’d been snowing for days, featuring a very slippery pavement and a freezing wind, making Louis wonder how in the world someone would wish for a white Christmas. It wasn’t even white. It was grey at his window and brown at his feet, blue in the morning and black at night. A myth, that’s what it was.

It also didn’t help that his birthday happened to be at the same time. He never stayed long enough in a town to invite the few friends he’d made to celebrate, never got to ask for a special place to go when they had to unpack, and never got to talk to someone other than his mom when the lines weren’t installed yet to call his friends and cousins. To put it in a simple sentence, Louis hated Christmas, and pretty much anything related to it.

“It’s not there !” He groans once he’s done checking every single boxes – twice - to find his ball. There wasn’t much he got to keep every time. He always lost things along the way, unable to pack too much when he had only about four medium boxes for everything he owned. The only thing he held onto was his football though. No matter where they ended up, there was always enough room to play footie. It wasn’t always allowed to play the piano when they rented a flat, he couldn’t join any club to experience new interests, but there was always an empty space, always a square or park nearby to kick around and forget the surroundings to focus on the goal. It was the only constant in his life, so he wasn’t going to let go of it just yet.

“Have you checked your backpack ?” Jay asks, clearly more concerned by the state of her kitchen cupboard than Louis’ distress.

“I think if I’d had a football on my back, I’d notice it, mom !” Louis turns red, already making a fuss within the twenty minutes after their arrival as he stomps across the room and goes through the same boxes he’s checked already. “I can’t find it !”

“Are you sure you packed it ?” Jay mutters, lifting Louis’ four year old sister off the counter.

“Yes. I put it in the blue box with all the toys. It’s not there.” Louis walks in circles, almost ripping his hair off trying to think about where the hell he’d put this bloody ball.

“The blue box ? You mean the one you shared with Lottie ?”

“Yes ! Have you seen it ?!” Louis asks, hopeful, eyes glimmering and smile creeping its way on his face because he can already feel relief spread and a sense of comfort calm his nerves.

“Boo Bear, I had to fit Lottie’s spare car seat in that box…I must’ve set it aside and forgot to put it back. I’m so sorry, love.”

Louis can’t say anything. His smile falters instantly and he drops his hands previously flying in excitement. He can feel his throat tighten and, before he can realize what’s happening, tears are streaming down his face, eyes flooded as he flees outside, slamming the door, Christmas wreath crashing in the melting snow. 

It wasn’t just about the ball. It was about the only thing he could have for himself, the only thing he could have freedom over, the only thing that made him smile and forget everything for a few hours, focusing on his feet juggling with the football his stepdad had gotten him when he’d moved in. Now he was gone, and so was this damn ball.

He doesn’t dare going too far and get lost, so he just sits on the wooden bench in the front lawn, distracted by the sound of children playing near him as he sniffles and wipes his cold cheeks with his gloved hands.

“Get it, Niall !” A boy exclaims, making Louis notice a mop of curls bouncing on top of said boy who seemed to have the whole game in hand. He gave instructions and corrected his friends when they made a mistake, ice skating the best they could on the arranged surface with hockey sticks hitting a pinecone in the middle of the snow, cheering as soon as it landed in the trash cans positioned on each side of the white-ish grass.

“I got it, Liam ! I got it !” Niall reassures his friend, tripping on the ice nonetheless as he curses with a strong Irish accent. Louis widened his eyes to the sight of this angry kid cursing on a roll even though he looked younger than himself.

“Oh yeah, good job ! Maybe next time you’ll aim right before falling !” Liam rolls his eyes and drops his stick to call it a day, going to Niall’s rescue anyway to help him get back up.

There are other boys there too. They all seem to be around Louis’ age, enjoying a sunny day outside to play an improvised version of hockey in front his neighbour’s house. He keeps watching, letting go of his previous thoughts to follow the game and contain himself to not cheer for a team. He watches as they laugh together when one of them falls, encourage each other with loud cheers and temporarily hit each other with snowballs whenever they take a break, making Louis wish he could play with his friends right now as well. Except their thing was football. And Louis was starting to doubt the possibility of that sport with this much snow.

He doesn’t even realize when they all leave, walking down the street by groups of two or three until there’s only one boy left, warmly clothed from head to toe, ready for an imminent blizzard. He’s wearing a green beanie with red stripes and a tiny bell hanging at the tip of a pompom, a true elf hat bouncing with each step. Louis can’t help chuckling, wondering why anyone would wear that willingly.

“Hello !” The boy suddenly waves in Louis’ direction, making the latter turn around to check if it’s in fact him that’s being waved at. “Yeah, you ! Are you the new neighbour ?!”

“Um…” Louis stutters and nods, blushing slightly because he was still too shy when meeting new people his age, especially when caught staring like that.

The boy seems pleased with the answer, dropping his hockey stick to walk around the fence and greet Louis with a dimpled smile, exposing his teeth and green eyes as he gets closer, small chestnut curls escaping his ridiculous hat.

“Hi, I’m Harry !” He says happily, cheeks pink and nose scrunching to keep from sniffling in that cold.

“I’m Louis. Do you live there ?” Louis asks and mentally slaps himself. Of course he had to live there. Idiot.

“No, just enjoying the garden. I sometimes steal their hot chocolate too. But that’s a secret.” Harry says very seriously and then giggles, making Louis look up in embarrassment and blush. This boy probably thought he was dumb already.

“Nice game…” Louis changes the subject before crumbling from the heat building in his cheeks.

“Thanks !” Harry beams. “You should’ve joined us ! We actually needed one more person.”

“I didn’t want to interrupt or anything…” Louis shrugs with a small smile, rubbing the back of his neck to conceal how cold he is. He couldn’t even step back inside to grab a beanie and break the dramatic effect. He couldn’t go back there until Jay came looking out for him. It would be admitting defeat.

“It’s alright !” Harry shrugs. “You can join us next time and I’ll introduce you to everyone.”

“Thanks a lot !” Louis can’t help grinning, pursing his lips right after to remind himself he doesn’t actually want to stay here, so he shouldn’t start finding a reason to. He must take a long time to consider that thought, because Harry is digging his foot in the snow as he tries to find something else to say.

“Where are you from ?”

“Doncaster. But we were in Sheffield this year and now we’re here, and we’ll probably be somewhere else next year.” The look on Louis’ face must gave his frustration away, because when he looks up, Harry looks upset, brows furrowed and pity clear in his eyes.

“Must be nice to explore new places !” He ends up smiling big, as if a wave of positivity had rushed to his brain. “I’ve never been anywhere else. I hope one day I can leave.”

“That’s funny, I just hope one day I can stay.” Louis laughs but the words aren’t as funny as they sound in his mind. Harry notices.

“Are you done unpacking and stuff ?”

“Not really, no.” Louis looks down, a little unsure about how he’s supposed to explain why he’s been outside instead of helping out his mom.

“Do you need-“ Harry starts but is quickly stopped by a feminine voice behind them.

“Harry ! We’re leaving soon !” A woman shouts from an opened window.

“Coming !” Harry shouts back before turning to Louis again. “Sorry, that’s my mom. We’re going to see my granddad.”

“Oh, okay…I’ll let you go then.” Louis says politely, fidgeting with the threads coming out of his gloves, cringing when he hears his voice crack from how frozen he’s getting.

“Are you going home ?” Harry asks worriedly, making Louis wonder if he’s bleeding or something.

“Nah, I think I’ll hang out there for a while.”

Before Louis can say anything else, Harry is taking his elf hat off his head and sliding it on Louis’, adjusting his hair under it until the warmth makes him relax enough to focus on the boy grinning back at him.

“They said it’d be snowing again later. Please don’t freeze ?”

Louis would’ve given that stupid hat back, already annoyed by the noise of that tiny bell wiggling on his head, but Harry looked like happiness personified and was already walking towards his house, answering to his mom shouting his name until the front door slammed shut, bringing Louis back to himself, warmer, calmer, and looking like one of Santa’s minions.

“Where’s that from ?” Jay asks when Louis decides he’s been sulking enough. He would’ve waited longer for his mom to come look for him, but the day had tired him enough to fall on his mattress and just hope he gets to make friends when he goes outside again. It usually took him weeks to meet boys his age, especially since he always moved in during the holidays, so it was nice to see his neighbour could be a new friend. He still hated the place, but having someone to distract him could be the solution he needed.

“Huh ?”

“The hat.” Jay points at Louis’ ringing head, making the latter smile to himself and take it off.

“It’s Harry’s.” He says as if she’s supposed to understand what that means.

He walks upstairs before she can ask more and gets rid of his layers until he’s just wearing his plaid pyjama bottoms and his superman jumper, falling on the mattress directly on the wooden floor, playing with the green and red Christmas-y hat, loathing the concept but smiling at the thought of him returning it to the nice boy next door.

 

. . .

 

The first thing Louis feels when he wakes up is the excruciating pain that comes with a numb arm and frozen toes. He squeals and quickly rushes to get the blue socks his nan had gotten him last year. They’re slightly too small and way too thin to do the job, but he doesn’t have anything else so he turns every possible button he finds near the heating system under his window, almost sobbing from the shooting pain down the arm he’s slept on, having forgotten where he’d put his pillow. He wasn’t the best at check lists and he may or may not have spent too much time checking on his Action Man figures more than the main necessities.

He’s still too cold though, blowing air in his cupped hands and shaking, jumping like a lunatic, until he spots the green hat that had kept him warmer the day before. He grabs it and puts it on, rolling his eyes once he notices how ridiculous he looks in the mirror.

“Louis !” Jay calls from downstairs, making her son grunt but drag his feet down the stairs. “Morning, love !”

“Morning…” Louis mumbles, escaping his mom’s embrace when she tries to hug him tight. He loved his mom, sure, but he was turning eleven. He wasn’t a baby anymore. He didn’t need the hugs and motherly concern.

“How was the first night in our new home ?” Jay grinned, placing a full plate of scrambled eggs with beans on toast on the table for Louis, milk already poured neatly in the Spiderman cup he’d gotten from a cereal box a few years ago.

“Cold.” Louis huffs, picking at the baked beans in his plate with one hand under his chin, not very hungry when his feet felt like ice cubes and he couldn’t even warm them up playing footie.

“Don’t be pessimistic, sweetheart.” Jay sighs.

“What does that mean ?”

“It’s when you only focus on the bad side of things, when you expect the worst. The opposite is optimistic and I intend this house to be just that. No more tantrums and no more sulking kids around me until we have a real reason to dislike the place. Okay ?”

Louis wasn’t even listening. The beans weren’t even lukewarm, just plain cold and mushy, and the bread was slightly burnt. The eggs weren’t salted because they apparently didn’t have any, and the milk had gone bad already. Perfect.

Before he can whine about it, Lottie is crying, high pitch voice destroying his ears, making him cover them and sprint upstairs, letting his mom deal with his sister throwing her breakfast all over the floor while he takes a hot shower to try and find some sort of heat and get dressed to go play in the backyard. There was a swing there, old but still standing, hidden by high trees that allowed him to let go of the tears he hoped would just stay away for a day.

He just wanted this Christmas to not suck so much. But it already did.

“Louis !” A voice behind him calls, making him dry his cheeks and turn around to see a small head picking out of the wooden fence.

“Hi…” Louis smiles, trying his best not to show his red eyes and expose his cracked voice.

“You wanna come play with us ?” Harry doesn’t seem to notice Louis’ sadness and just beams at him with his rosy cheeks and curls swinging on his head, smirking for no apparent reason.

“It’d be sick, yeah.” Louis stands up and tries his best to climb the fence, wondering for a split second if he should warn his mom, but thinking otherwise right after, letting Harry help him by securing his arms under his waist until he’s fully on the ground, exchanging smiles and giggles in the process because it wasn’t as easy as it looked.

“Josh, give it back !” The blond boy Louis recognizes to be Niall scolds his friend who’s running around with what looks like a signed golf ball.

“Hey ! Hey !” Liam stops the both of them by the shoulders and makes the two apologize until Niall gets his ball back. That boy was definitely the peace maker of the group.

“Everyone, this is Louis.” Harry introduces him with an arm hooked around his shoulders as if they’d known each other for long enough. “Louis, that’s Josh, Dan, Sandy, Niall and Liam.”

Louis tries to register every name even though he’s pretty sure he’ll forget them in a few minutes, and waves politely at them, earning cheery hellos and friendly greetings.

They don’t wait long before they’re all chasing a pinecone just the way they did the day before, sliding on their shoes instead of actual blades. They fall multiple times and have a laugh about it, and it does hurt a bit to fall on his bum so many times, but Louis giggles anyway and teams up with Harry and Niall whilst Josh, Dan and Sandy play against them, the game supervised by Liam as the designated referee, more skilled at calling goals than making them for the most part.

They’re all friendly and easy to get along with, welcoming Louis with each pat on the back whenever he scores or passes the pinecone, glad he can already make so many friends on the second day here. He doesn’t even see the day go by, all the boys leaving one by one until it’s just him and Harry passing a pinecone to each other in the middle of the melted snow, tripping over their feet too many times to feel their bum anymore.

“What’s your school ?” Harry asked before passing the destroyed pinecone once again.

“I forgot the name, it’s the one down the street, ugly trees and red buildings.”

“Oh, you’re going to MSC. That’s my school. That’s wicked, Niall and Liam go there too ! Do you know who’s your teacher ?”

“Mr Cowell I think.” Louis shrugs. Harry looked younger than him but he somehow seemed to fit into an older age gap, mimicking expressions he used himself and wouldn’t expect someone younger to use.

“That’s my teacher ! He’s the worst, but the class is funny. You’ll love it there.”

“Not sure about that…” Louis says under his breath, kicking the pinecone and only looking up when he doesn’t get it back.

Harry is throwing it in his hands, juggling with two others like a proper show off, walking closer until he bumps his shoulder with Louis’ with a wry smile and lets everything he was holding fall at their feet. Louis raises a brow, confused because he wasn’t done playing yet. He wasn’t done ignoring what was waiting for him at home. All he wanted was to play with Harry until the sun disappeared, and maybe stay there even after that.

“Do you really move that often ?” Harry asks, staring at his wet shoes, tracing patterns in the snow as Louis watches him, carefully waiting for him to speak ever so slowly, articulating every word as if to have enough time to find the next one.

“Every Christmas.”

“Really ?!” Harry gasps, mouth forming an ‘o’, red lips somehow shining, matching his mesmerizing shocked eyes. Louis nods, unable to make the smile on his face vanish, reaching out to close Harry’s mouth by gently lifting his chin so his jaw can go back to normal. The boy giggles and smiles into Louis’ palm, making the awkwardness on Louis’ side disappear almost instantly.

“Yeah.”

“Why so often ?”

And oh, if only Louis knew.

“My mom likes change.” Is what he says, because it’s all he knows. He’s always “too young” to have any explanation, gets told to “let the adults deal with it”, so he has no clue why he’s not in Doncaster anymore, has no clue why two men he called dad at some point are not there anymore, and has no clue what being “the man of the house” means.

“Do you like hot chocolate ?” Harry asks out of nowhere, and Louis is thankful. He nods happily, eyes shrinking because of how big he’s smiling at the prospect of fresh milk and sweetened cocoa. “C’mon then ! My sister always has one in the afternoon and I convince her to make one for me every time.”

Louis doesn’t have time to protest because he’s pulled forward by the wrist, running to step inside his neighbour’s house, muddy shoes placed in the entrance along with his coat and Harry’s hat, making Louis suddenly very aware of how much it’d grown on him. He still hated how stupid it looked, but maybe it wasn’t that bad if it made him feel this warm.

They walk through a hallway full of family pictures framed on the wall, portraying happy smiles and crazy activities Louis wishes he would’ve done as well, theme parks and trips to islands that look like paradise.

He takes more steps and finds himself in a John Lewis advert, Christmas decorations taking each and every corner of the living room, tall tree lit and clothed with bobbles and handmade paper stars, dozens of presents all wrapped and piled under the exuberant tree Louis can only gulp at.

There’s also a fireplace, stockings hanging with three names _Mom_ , _Gemma_ and _Harry_ , which makes Louis assume that Harry as well may lack the father figure he’s been living without all this time. He notices the seemingly soft sofa throws, the woollen slippers and the scented candles making the house smell like gingerbread, a scent Louis despised in shops but somehow enjoyed here, fitting well with the sound of the crackling wood. And there it was, everything that screamed Christmas, everything he hated more than anything displayed in one room.

“Gem !” Harry shouts once they reach the kitchen. Louis stays right behind, following his new friend ashe tries not to faint at the sight of this festive household.

“Hazza, where did you put the-“ A young girl starts complaining but immediately stops, grinning when she spots Louis behind her brother. “Oh, hello…”

“Gemma, this is Louis. He just moved in.”

“Oh, you’re Jay’s son ?” Gemma asks, a bag of mini marshmallows in one hand.

“Um…yeah ?” Louis frowns, wondering when he missed the part where his mom introduced herself to Harry’s family. “Have you met her ?”

“Yes ! She’s looking for you ! Harry, you should’ve told us he was here, she looked so worried !” Gemma says with a panicked voice as she measures the cocoa powder and gets three mugs, apparently including Louis in her afternoon snack.

“Oops…” Harry bites his lip, turning to Louis as if he’s the one to blame.

“It’s okay ! I should’ve told her. I won’t stay too late I guess.”

“Alright, but have this first.” Gemma suggests, handing Louis a steamy mug of hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows on top. For a thirteen year old girl, she seemed to be a very skilled host.

Louis may or may not have moaned and collapsed into the mug. He hadn’t had a hot chocolate this good since…well…ever. He usually had tea and his mom was a coffee enthusiast, so hot chocolates were very rare.

He can hear Harry and his sister laugh around him, but can’t help sinking into the steam coming from the mug, not caring about the cream on the tip of his nose and the corner of his mouth.

“I guess he likes it !” Harry giggles, thanking Gemma as she exists the room and walks to the couch to watch a movie featuring a young blond boy alone in a house. Louis’ never seen it but he fights himself to not peek a bit more, determined to keep despising this holiday and everything that reminds him of it.

“It’s so creamy…” He mumbles instead, still enjoying every sip of the hot chocolate. He downs the entire thing and licks his mouth, but he surely hasn’t an efficient tongue, because Harry doesn’t stop laughing, scrunching his nose and giggling in his own mug. “Do I have some on my nose ?”

Harry shakes his head no but doesn’t stop laughing at Louis, barely able to drink from shaking so much. Because Louis doesn’t mind this boy’s laugh, he doesn’t frown, but he also doesn’t resist the urge to tilt the bottom of the mug so Harry’s nose is dipped in whipped cream as well, making the boy’s face fall, and making Louis laugh hysterically.

“Still funny ?” He wiggles his brows, witnessing Harry’s eyes go from surprise to mischief, discretely grabbing the whipped cream on the counter, and slowly placing his finger to spray it on Louis. The latter lifts his hands up in defence, unaware of what this boy is capable of. “Don’t you dare.”

He watches as Harry uncaps the bottle and still doesn’t move as he smirks, challenging him to defend himself for half a second before chasing him in the kitchen, whipped cream covering his face in one spray.

Louis keeps running around until he brusquely bends over, making Harry trip over him and fall, allowing Louis to wipe his face and spread the cream on Harry’s rosy cheeks, both of them shouting and laughing loud enough to make Gemma shush them from the living room.

“You win ! You win !” Harry giggles, choking on laughter. Louis is almost crying, sniffling whipped cream dripping from his nose onto Harry’s shirt, making the both of them make disgusted faces before laughing all over again, only standing up when they hear footsteps enter the kitchen.

“Louis ! Oh my God !”

Louis can’t look at Harry before getting crushed in his mother’s arms, struggling to breathe as she kisses the top of his head.

“I’ve been looking for you all day ! Why did you leave without telling me ?!” Jay had just gone from relief to anger, squeezing Louis’ shoulders to speak to him to eye level, scolding her son for his recklessness.

“Sorry. I was just playing outside.” Louis says, distant and unaffected by how distraught his mom looks, puffy eyes suggesting she’s been more than just slightly worried about him.

“Okay…well..I don’t know the neighbourhood yet, and you don’t either. So please tell me whenever you wanna play with Harry okay ?” Jay sighs and finally meets Harry’s eyes. Louis does the same and already feels guilty for dragging his new friend into this. “Hi, I’m Jay, Louis’ mom.”

“Nice to meet you...Sorry for not telling you, we just wanted to play hockey.” Harry says shyly, earning a warm smile from Louis’ mother.

“It’s alright, honey. Thankfully your mom called me. We’re going home now.”

“Can he stay ?” Harry rushes the words with a few steps forward when Jay grabs her son’s hand to leave, taking Louis by surprise.

He’d always made a few friends, but none of them were like Harry. They were into football and growing up too fast, always included Louis enough to make him feel welcome but sometimes bullied him if he met the wrong kind of kids. He did keep contact with a few, but most of them forgot about him, never reached out, never really missed him or made much effort to see him.

He’d only known Harry for a day and yet here he was, begging his mom to let him stay a while longer. He was more interested in everything creative even though he did enjoy playing outside, turning sports into an opportunity to have a laugh, falling on his arse and pretending a pinecone hid many abilities, never talking about the things that could cause him to be sad, finding a good side to everything instead. Maybe he was what his mom had said, “optimistic”. And maybe Louis wasn’t against that word so far.

“Um…I’m happy you boys get along, but t’s quite late and-“ Jay starts but a woman interrupts her, making Louis look up to see Harry’s portrait, big smile and dark hair standing out on a tall beautiful young woman Louis assumes is Harry and Gemma’s mother.

“I could walk him to your door in a few hours if you want ?” She suggests, and Louis likes her already. “I’m Anne.” She waves at Louis and the latter smiles, waving back before absentmindedly stepping closer to Harry as if to subtly accept the offer.

“I suppose…if you’re having fun ?” Jay raises a brow, not used to Louis being this joyful, especially on moving week. He’s usually locked in his room at that time, staying quiet and barely social as he comes to terms with the idea of a new home.

He nods, stepping just that bit closer to Harry until they’re bumping shoulders, not willing to sound too eager but also willing to spend all evening with his new neighbour who enjoys whipped cream fights and weird knock knock jokes.

“Okay. But you don’t bother Anne and you come home when she says so.” Jay instructs as she leaves, making Harry squeak excitedly next to him, pulling at his hand until she’s officially outside, rushing them to his room as soon as she’s gone, ignoring his own mother warning them about a curfew.

“Wow.” Louis exclaims when they enter Harry’s room. He’d never had the chance to have his own personalized room, always too aware of how fast he’d leave it.

Harry’s room was a ten year old boy’s idea of Heaven. There were posters of the greatest movies of all times and two Nintendo’s on the floor under a small TV, dozens of figurines all over the floor with cars and the Hot Wheels tracks Louis had always wanted, built all around the room, a genuine park leading to a small bunk bed, large desk underneath the high mattress. A few comic books are spread on it, a springy and fluffy pens thrown all over, making it difficult for Louis to focus on just one thing.

“You have so much stuff…” Louis says in awe, exploring the room of wonders, almost fainting when he sees the Mario Kart games and other old Gameboys Harry must keep as collector.

“Yeah I know. My dad feels so bad for not being there he gets me whatever I want.” Harry shrugs, making Louis turn to check his demeanour, still as peaceful as he’s been so far. “Do you have a phone ?”

“Of course not. Do you ?”

“Mmh…” Harry sounds embarrassed but still gets a flip phone from his desk drawer, hiding his face in his hands until Louis joins him, already looking through it.

“I’m officially jealous you know.” Louis pouts.

“Don’t be. It’s just stuff.”

“Yeah, but a lot of it !” Louis playfully pushes Harry’s shoulder, making him blush as he keeps looking through his room, phone in one hand.

“Do you wanna play ?” Harry asks after a while, pointing at the Nintendo, taking Louis’ excited squeal as a yes.

They play for three hours.

It’s three hours of races and cheating when Harry isn’t looking and revenge when he notices. It’s three hours of laughter and three hours of Louis enjoying himself for the very first time in ages. He hasn’t even found the time to comment on Harry’s festive jumper he was wearing, gingerbread man sticking out to mock Louis.

“You really love Christmas, huh ?” He finally asks, giggling in in his fist when he spots Harry’s miniature Christmas tree on top of the TV.

“Of course I do. Who doesn’t !”

“I don’t.” Louis shrugs and falls from the shared bean bag when Harry shifts too fast.

“Sorry !” Harry giggles and gives a hand to Louis so he can hop back on, making them almost sit on each other to not fall again. “But why don’t you like Christmas ? It’s like saying you don’t like…presents, and movies, and trees and-“

“Okay, okay !” Louis makes Harry stop by bringing a hand to his mouth, stopping the boy in his rush. “I’m just not into it. Never been.”

“You don’t even get excited about Santa ?” Harry asks with puppy eyes, holding on to Louis wrist to speak.

“What’s the point ? He’s not even real.” Louis chuckles, heart dropping when he realizes Harry might not share that thought when he drops Louis’ hand, frowns at his lap and looks like he’s just been hit.

“Just because a story is made up doesn’t mean it’s all rubbish.” Harry says, voice stern and eyes dark and low, making Louis’ smile vanish too painfully. “If it makes someone happy, then it doesn’t matter if it’s not real. The movies you like never happened, but it makes you happy, so who cares ?”

Louis ponders that thought. Harry wasn’t as clueless as he seemed, and maybe Louis didn’t need to bring him down as well as himself this year. But he was usually spending days alone in his room writing letters he knew his friends wouldn’t return, so it was a bit new to bond with someone so different from him.

“What do you love so much about Christmas anyway ?” Louis asks, trying to bring a smile back on the boy’s face. He’s rewarded when Harry instantly lights up, looking ahead as he lists everything that justifies the eccentric jumper on him.

He mentions how everyone’s happier at that time, how the town is decorated and lit for weeks, embellishing the streets, Christmas carols echoing as they walk to check the decorations form every houses in the neighbourhood, competing against each other for the award of the most lit and cheerful decoration in the corner. He explains how every smell is better at Christmas, the food, the fire, the school projects they always organize to make presents and wrap them, the family gatherings and the ultimate morning where he’ll open random presents and have the ones he wanted, spending the day in pyjamas watching classic movies with his sister and mother with a hot chocolate. He explains how the holiday is not even just about church and presents, it’s about how it makes one feel, the memory he’s created over the years at that time, and everything that reminds him of it.

“What do you hate so much about it ?” Harry then asks back, briefly staring at Louis’ face before blowing on his cheek, a bit of fluff from his pen having landed there. Louis lets him and blushes, but clears his throat to try and describe how that time of year makes him feel.

“I just hate how we always have to end up in the worst places around that time. The only memories I have is, like, crappy flats and McDonald’s. It’s not as great as it sounds.” 

“Do you think it’s awful here ?” Harry asks, avoiding Louis’ eyes as if he’s feeling guilty to be a part of Louis’ bad experience with Christmas.

“You’re not…” Is what Louis says, and it makes Harry smile so he doesn’t add anything else.

They keep chatting and playing with everything Harry owns until Anne knocks to walk Louis home, worried about his mother. They plan on seeing each other the day after though, so Louis isn’t even that upset about going back home if it meant playing with his neighbour again.

. . .

 

“Flying cars. Definitely.” Louis nods to himself, one hundred per cent sure he’ll be able to drive a flying vehicle in ten years.

“But what about robots, Lou ?” Harry pouts, looking up from where he’s lying on Louis’ lap, letting him pet his hair his mom had washed in the morning with coconut oil, newfound secret her mother had taught her. Louis had made fun of him for it, but he did have to admit it made his curls even softer and easy to play with.

“They’d probably kill us. Flying cars are cool.” Louis confirms, and Harry almost destroys their fortress when he drops both his arms at his sides in defeat.

They’d been hiding in their den made out of sheets, pillows and chairs for hours now, playing PlayStation and making bets on what invention would come through when they’ll be adults. They’d discussed the possible return of Dinosaurs – Jurassic Park had to be real after all – and debated over who they’d be when that happens.

Louis didn’t even spend time alone. He was either at Harry’s or at home with him, making up new games and chasing each other with everything they could find, paint, ketchup and other fake snow and real one.

It’d been over a week now, and Louis didn’t know if one day without his new friend was worth it. Gemma sometimes joined them, quickly disappearing once her own friends and their cousins came over. They were mainly girls Gemma’s age, so Louis and Harry stayed by themselves, unable to stay away from each other for over five minutes without boredom hitting them.

They’d even go grocery shopping with the other’s mom, the two women hanging out together for hours as they waited for their son to finally say goodbye reluctantly. It was amazing how well they got along, how fast they’d bonded, and how happy they made each other, something Louis was oddly trying to get used to.

There was something he’d never really felt with his other friends after all. He somehow knew they’d become best friends, or the highest form of friends you can have anyway, or at least that’s what he imagined the constant smile on his face meant.

Things became slightly more complicated when it wasn’t just the two of them though.

Niall and Liam were great and funny, always ready for any game. Liam had a tendency to control everything, but Louis pushed him to be a bit more of a pranker, and he enjoyed every second of him yelling but discretely smiling thinking Louis wouldn’t notice. Niall was hilarious and had started staring at Louis in a way that could suggest he’d applaud for anything he’d do, so Louis liked him as well.

They were a good team and it was even more fun if they wanted to play board games or sports, so Louis wasn’t complaining at all, making more friends being is number one interest as per usual.

The one thing he hadn’t anticipated, however, was what would happen if he felt Harry lose interest in him. It’s not that he ever did, but there was that thing that had happened at the shop, which Louis still had issues trying to understand.

They were walking around the toy aisle with Gemma, trying to get something new to play with - in this case they wanted bubbles - when a friend of hers, a gorgeous redhead with freckles on her cheeks and a pretty smile, jumped on her friend.

Louis politely smiled and waved hello, but he quickly stopped when the girl hugged Harry and started talking the way Louis imagined flirty teenagers spoke, a finger playing with her long hair falling on her chest, light giggles filling the space when Harry wouldn’t even be that funny, and pink cheeks too obvious on her pale winter skin. She liked Harry. And, for some reason, Louis didn’t like her.

“Are you coming with Gemma at Julian’s ?” She asked, not even acknowledging Louis’ presence, or Gemma’s for that matter, completely mesmerized by her brother. “I’ll be there…”

Harry grins and nods shyly, making Louis roll his eyes and cough, trying not so subtly to signal his friend that he’s being embarrassing. The latter doesn’t get the message though. He just frowns and gestures for Louis to stop laughing.

“What’s your problem ?” The girl asks, crossing her arms in front of her. She looks him up and down and finally hugs her friends goodbye – leaving Louis out – and joins her dad a few feet away.

“What was that ?!” Harry whisper-shouts shoving his fist in Louis’ shoulder as if to scold him. “She’ll think I was making fun of her now !”

“Do you fancy her ?” Louis giggles, but he doesn’t feel that amused.

“Well, yeah !” Harry says matter-of-factly. “But now she’ll never want to talk to me again.”

Harry buries his face into his hands and walks too far away from Louis, making the latter feel bad enough to not say a word, only murmuring a weak ‘sorry’ he hopes will make Harry like him again. It’s not that he wanted this to fail, not that he hated that girl, but for a second Harry was blushing and not paying attention to Louis and seemed to be too interested in her. And no he wasn’t sure that was a valid reason, but he just didn’t like it.

They don’t talk on the way home.

Anne is driving and Gemma is talking more than everyone, so Louis and Harry stay silent in the back, Harry’s eyes glued to the window to make sure Louis knows he’s mad at him. He doesn’t speak when they get out, and still doesn’t say anything when they get to Louis’ room since Jay had invited everyone over for dinner.

“Are you mad at me ?” Louis dares asking with a sheepish look as Harry sits on the bed, fidgeting with his hands. He only shrugs and stays mute, as if to ponder what to say.

“M’not mad. I just don’t get it.”

Louis sighs and joins him on the bed, not saying anything because he really doesn’t get it either.

“I didn’t want you to abandon me or something…I know that’s stupid. I’m sorry.”

Harry finally looks at him after what feels like an eternity, eyes no long filled with anger, but remorse. He unfolds his hands to grasp one of Louis’, and squeezes as he speaks.

“I’d never abandon you, Louis.” He says with a soft tone. “You’re my best friend.”

“But we’ve only known each other for like, two weeks ?” Louis raises a brow.

“I don’t care.” Harry pouts with a shrug. “I like you too much to let you go now. You’re trapped with me.”

Louis can’t help giggling, hiding his blushing cheeks behind the back of his hand, unable to stop smiling. He sort of felt like an idiot, thinking a girl would make Harry leave him forever. Now that he’d said they were best friends, there was something that resembled pride and satisfaction, easing the previous tension so they could keep having as much fun as they had so far.

Funnily enough, he finds out Harry acts the same if a girl approaches Louis, staring at her with dark eyes until she gets the hint and walks away. They don’t discuss it though. It just sort of becomes normal, sometimes tugging at the other’s hand as if to pull him away from everyone they don’t approve of.

By the time Louis’ birthday comes, he’s not so upset about it. He knows he’ll spend the day with Harry and knows his mom got a cake, so he’s not about to pretend everything sucks for once.

“What’s that ?!” He asks Harry as soon as he unwraps the present he’d gotten him, hiding in their den made of blankets.

“Walkie-talkies ! So we can talk even when we’re not together !” Harry explains with all the joy in the world, head banging on the chair behind him from excitement. Louis giggles behind his hand and gives Harry half his gift to test the gadget. And he’s not disappointed at all.

They spend the day pretending they’re on a mission to steal Louis’ cake, claiming Jay and Anne are the dragons keeping the castle – or kitchen – and using Lottie as the distraction until they’re caught digging their fingers in the icing they then spread all over each other’s faces, running around the house to reach their den again, still only communicating through Louis’ new toys.

“Lou to Young Harold. Lou to Young Harold.” Louis whispers, taking his thumb off the button to hear the other end of the line.

“Go ahead.” Harry whispers back. Louis laughs but quickly clears his throat to speak again.

“Best gift ever.” He says, unable to keep himself from giggling, trying to stay quiet when his mom and sister are asleep. He’s buried under his blanket, and it’s like Harry is with him, just the two of them remaking the world together until they both fall asleep.

. . .

 

When Christmas comes, they stay home. Louis was told Harry would stay with his family, and he shall do the same, especially when he’d been seeing Anne more than his own mother.

He ran downstairs to find a breakfast he knew was already cold, not even glancing at the tree because he knew there wouldn’t be much under it.

This time though, Jay stopped him halfway. She grinned too big to look innocent, and took a round wrapped object from behind her back to give her son. The latter widened his eyes and immediately took it, unwrapping it faster than he ever could, jumping in his mother’s arms once a brand new football was in sight.

“Thank you, mum !” He repeated, kissing her cheek over and over again.

She normally disregarded presents, always saying they had a roof and food and that was enough, only getting him a new pair of socks or whatnot, thing he didn’t care much about. He was so sure she wouldn’t think about it, but he was glad he’d talked to Anne about it. The two had been sharing so many things he wondered if they weren’t the same person at this point. And he wasn’t complaining. He loved his mom to bits, but Anne was also the loveliest woman he’d met, so having the mix of the two was the real Christmas miracle.

Because there wasn’t much left he could keep to himself, he ignored his mother’s warnings and grabbed his walkie-talkie, calling Harry in vain until he climbed over the fence and peered through the closest window. He was about to knock on the door when he saw his family gathered in the living room, when he heard someone shout.

It was a strong and deep masculine voice Louis didn’t recognize: Harry’s father.

He stayed on the backyard porch, frozen, not willing to make his presence noticed when Harry’s parents were bickering. He heard them argue over their children as if they weren’t even there, criticizing their education and fighting to have the last word about where they should live. Louis felt his throat tighten, flashbacks of his own parents yelling at each other rushing right back.

The second he could leave, he did. He tiptoed back to his house and waited. With his toy in hand and his football under his arm, he waited for Harry to call him or answer him. But he didn’t, not until he was already in bed, trying to get over the fact that this year, Christmas still sucked.

“Young Harold to Lou. Young Harold to Lou.” A crashed voice woke Louis up, deafening him from where it came right into his ear. He’d fallen asleep with the walkie-talkie on his pillow, and he felt both glad and incredibly stupid.

“Go ahead.” He yawned, sitting on his bed to rub his eyes.

“Are you sleeping ?”

“No.” Louis lies.

“Can I come ?” Harry then asks, and for a second Louis thinks he might be crying, hard to tell when a crashing noise keeps interrupting their voices.

“Yeah. I’m coming.”

“Clear.” Harry sniffles.

“Clear.” Louis says with as much hurt as he would’ve if he cried himself.

When he reaches the back door, Harry is already there, lips shaking in the cold. Louis rushes him inside and they silently tiptoe to Louis’ room until they’re both under his blanket, streetlights coming from the window across the bed lighting up their faces.

They stay in silent and Louis doesn’t ask anything. He lets Harry curl up into a ball and cry, hugging him as tight as he can until he calms down.

“My dad is moving to London.” Harry finally confesses, still sniffling in Louis’ Spiderman pyjama top. “He says he wants us to move with him.”

The feeling that spreads through Louis’ chest is far from the one he’d thought he’d have that day. He thought he’d be making snowmen with his new best friend, thought he’d be building gingerbread houses with Lottie, and maybe Gemma, thought this year he would’ve the real thing. But instead, all he had was a boring day and the worst news to end it.

“Are you leaving ?” Louis asks, voice weak but comprehensive, not too keen on letting Harry know how bad the very thought is hurting him.

“I don’t know. I’ve always wanted to…And London sounds so cool and beautiful.” Harry admits. “But I like it here.”

Louis wanted to convince him to stay, wanted to make sure he’d have the best company he’s ever had until it’s time to leave again. All he wanted was for Harry to stay with him, always.

“You should go if you want to.” Is what he says instead.

“Really ?”

“I’ve always wanted to go there too. I know I said moving is crap, but I know you miss your dad, and London sounds fun.”

“Oh.” Harry frowns, untangling himself from Louis’ embrace to play with the pillow they’re sharing. “So you think I should go ?”

_No._

“Yes.”

Thing is, Louis wasn’t selfish. He didn’t want Harry to go leave and he didn’t want to be deprived of his best friend. But he knew how much Harry loved his dad. He talked about him more often than not and always dreamt about moving in with him instead. He loved his mom but always seemed to prefer his dad, and Louis knew it’d be in his best interest if he lived with him.

“But…You’ll stay here…” Harry whispers, still avoiding Louis’ eyes.

The latter doesn’t answer. Instead, he leans in and kisses Harry’s cheek, flopping back on the mattress with a forced smile. Harry looks up, blushing, and kisses Louis back on his cold cheek before they both stay silent and just stare at each other, sharing all the words they don’t know yet, all the things they’re not sure how to describe, and all the unsaid sentences that’ll stay in their mind for as long as they’re apart.

And yes, this Christmas sucked as well.

 

. . .

 

Harry moves out the next Christmas.

His dad had find a better job that started the following year, so Louis hadn’t hidden his relief when Harry called him through their walkie-talkies one night to announce him that he’d stay another year.

They walked to school together, had the same friends, got into different clubs but still found ways to get together after practice. Jay and Anne where like sisters at this point and there was no reasonable explanation for doing things without the other at this point.

Harry and Louis still talked through their toys until Louis finally convinced his mom to get him a phone for his twelfth birthday, right before Harry left.

“So you’ll call me when you arrive and write me letters, right ?” Louis asks, trying hard to keep the tears inside.

“Of course !” Harry nods. He waits for a beat and then pulls Louis into a tight hug, and waits until Louis does the same, swaying in the entrance of Harry’s house which has been welcoming random men to carry several boxes, and not just from Harry’s room. Anne had indeed decided to move as well, unable to bear the memories of her broken family.

Ironically, Louis didn’t move out that year. Jay had found a nice guy and she was now expecting twins, and Louis cursed the universe for mocking him like that.

“Thank you for making this feel like home.” Harry whispers into Louis’ neck, still holding onto him.

“Huh ?”

“I never felt home here, until you came.”

Louis doesn’t respond. He just smiles into Harry’s shoulder and grips his festive jumper, hat ringing on his head. It had stopped being Harry’s the second he’d put it on him the first day they met. And let’s just say Louis didn’t care about looking like an elf if it meant getting such a big and genuine smile on this boy’s face.

They finally pull away when a man bumps into them places a box above their head on the shelf to grab another one. Louis looks up to see a small plant hanging from it, tickling his forehead.

When he gets his head back down, Harry’s lips are suddenly on his, light and gentle until he leaves a quick and soft peck and steps away.

“Wh-“

“A mistletoe.” Harry points at the branch above them. “It’s the rule.” He grins and sprints outside before Louis can say anything, gawking at his friend until Gemma comes to hug him goodbye. And yes, he might be missing this boy already.

They write each other letters the first few months. They call each other at night the way they would through their walkie-talkies, and they get news through their moms. But after a while, the letters stop, the phone calls lessen, and Jay doesn’t have any news.

It goes slowly, but one day, it’s been six months without anything, and Louis hasn’t had the time to notice. He finishes middle school and then high school happens and Harry becomes nothing but a childhood memory, the bet friend he loved so much as a kid, the nice neighbour he had when he was younger, and his first kiss.

 

. . .

 

“I can’t believe you didn’t even contact the guy. He’s probably a psycho !” Zayn exclaims.

“He’s not.” Louis huffs, not certain but stubborn.

He’d been looking for a flat to rent for months now, and he’d found nothing affordable. His friend had advised looking for a roommate instead, and that’s when he got lucky. A law student was renting a room in his flat for next to nothing, so he didn’t even get much info and just accepted, packing his stuff to start his new life in London.

“Call me when you meet him so I know he doesn’t kill you.” Zayn warns, making Louis roll his eyes and kick his side on the couch.

The building doesn’t look spectacular. He’d thought his first own place would be something edgy and artsy. But it’s just a red building. Fair enough.

The stairs smell like lemon and the carpet is flawless, so he gets all smug considering how cheap that room was despite the surroundings.

He clears his throat and readjust his jeans in the mirror before knocking on the door, waiting a few seconds before he’s facing a tall and lean twenty-one year old student with long curly hair, a black see through jumper and ripped skinny jeans, a green Packers beanie on his head. He reminds him vaguely of someone, but it’s only when his new roommate speaks up that memories rushes to his brain.

“Hi, I’m Harry.” The guy doesn’t seem to recognize him, and it’s only fair, with all the beard, and dishevelled hair replacing a childish face and soft hair.

“Hi. Louis.” He says with the creepiest smile, making Harry frown but step back to let him in.

They go over the details and Harry’s habits, and Louis can’t concentrate when he’s dying to tell Harry who he is. The opportunity comes when he naturally calls him by the nickname they used as kids.

“What did you call me ?” Harry widens his eyes as if his heart had stopped.

“What ? Young Harold ? Does anyone else call you that ?” Louis winks and is suddenly squished into Harry’s arms until there’s no oxygen left, until his feet are nearly off the ground, and until Harry is crying in his shoulders form happiness.

They catch up on all these years they haven’t talked to each other, and stay amazed at the way fate decided to bring them back.

It’s when Louis goes to sleep that he sees it, right there on the bar Harry must use to work out on his ginormous biceps. Gosh, Louis hasn’t done any exercise since his ex boyfriend had dragged him to the gym, but he still knows what that’s for. Except, that’s not what he focuses on. What he sees is the little plant he’d mistaken for something else when he was younger, a plant that beheld a nice memory that happened to remind him of the guy in this very room.

He grabs it and walks to where Harry is sitting on the couch, and he calls him so his roommate tilts his head backwards and is almost attacked by Louis’ lips on his, gentle and quick but efficient.

“Wh-“ Harry begins but Louis takes a sinful pleasure at stopping him.

“ A mistletoe. It’s the rule, remember ?”

He’s glad Harry remembers, glad hit makes him laugh, but also more than glad when he stands up, walks around to join his long lost best friend, and kisses him properly, nothing like the timid peck on the lips from ten years ago.

“Let’s keep it there then, Lou.” Harry giggles and replaces the mistletoe above them, until the need to do something else with their hands take over, making up for the years spent apart and all the times they could’ve used that mistletoe.

And no, that Christmas didn’t really suck.

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave some feedback :) x
> 
>  


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